Twins minor league bus involved in fatal wrong-way crash

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A bus carrying a Minnesota Twins minor league team was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on an interstate near Jacksonville, Florida early Tuesday.

The driver of that wrong-way car was killed in the collision, which took place around 4:30 a.m. First responders shut down Interstate 295 northbound just past Pritchard Road.

Aboard the bus were 30 players and one coach of the Minnesota Twins minor league affiliate team from Elizabethton, TN. The Elizabethton team opens their season tomorrow at home, and was training at the Twins complex in Fort Myers.

One of those players, Austin Malinowski, is a Minnesota native.

No one on board the bus was injured in the crash. The baseball team was transferred to a new bus around 7:45 a.m., and the club is expected to arrive in Elizabethon around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Twins President Dave St. Peter tweeted about the crash, saying "Tragic accident involving @EtownTwins bus. Thankful all members of @Twins family are safe. Thoughts and prayers for driver of other vehicle."

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) on scene said the car involved in the crash was a black Honda Civic heading the wrong way on I-295 northbound. The driver of the Civic, who was killed in the crash, has not been identified at this point. Investigators are trying to determine if alcohol was involved.

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